Free Press Advocate

School issues safety alert, reminder

Published by admin on Fri, 12/15/2017 - 3:03pm

    Wilmington School District 209-U issued a reminder to all parents and students Friday about the importance of regularly discussing safety strategies and appropriate reactions to potentially dangerous situations.
    On Thursday evening, a report was filed with the Wilmington Police Department by a  middle school-aged student. Dr. Matt Swick, superintendent, said the student reported that a stranger in a silver sedan had attempted to initiate communication as the student was riding a bike through the middle school campus.

Fire fueled by wind, barn a total loss

Published by admin on Tue, 12/12/2017 - 6:29pm

    A steady wind on Saturday helped a fire take a strong hold on a horse barn in rural Wilmington, and the straw inside ensured there was plenty of fuel for a destructive burn.
    “I knew we were in trouble when we pulled out and saw the black header,” commented Chief Tim Zlomie of the Wilmington Fire Protection District.
    The fire destroyed the barn in the 20,000 block of North Road in Wesley Township, the northernmost street in Resthaven Subdivision.

Water’s Edge anxious to see action

Published by admin on Tue, 12/12/2017 - 6:25pm

Residents of Water’s Edge Estates want to know when the city is going to accept and maintain the infrastructure in the 20-year-old subdivision on the city’s northeast side, and when it’s going to fix a flooding problem coming from the east. City officials say they’re working on it, but aren’t certain the city’s is responsible for everything.

Volunteers needed to pack food for the needy

Published by admin on Tue, 12/12/2017 - 6:22pm

Why Volunteer?
It’s a two-word question that will make you think.
Ask any Christian Help Association volunteer how they got started helping and most will name another volunteer who asked them to join.
Each volunteer has a job to do this time of year. The job does not pay monetarily but it sure does fill the heart.  
“We are helping the family down the street or around the corner. We do not know all their names but we know we are helping them have a nicer Christmas season,” they might say.

A time to give

Published by admin on Tue, 12/05/2017 - 8:43pm

Fundraiser, other opportunities to donate in the season of giving
    There are coat and toy drives, volunteer opportunities, and one of the biggest local fundraisers of the year; all part of the effort of the Kuzma Care Cottage and Christian Help Association to make Christmas seem like Christmas for local families in need.

One road opens, another closes

Published by admin on Tue, 12/05/2017 - 8:37pm

    About the time all of us 9 a.m.-ers got to work Monday morning, contractors were putting a stop line on the southbound Route 53 turn lane to eastbound Coal City Road. By late morning, the intersection’s new traffic signals were active and the Coal City Road railroad crossing was open.
    Wilmington Township Highway Commissioner Bill Weidling reported late last week that the Illinois Department of Transportation planned to activate the traffic signals at the Coal City Road intersection Monday at 10 a.m., with the rail crossing opening soon after that.

Autumn leftovers: Landscape waste pickup ends, lots of leaves left behind

Published by admin on Tue, 12/05/2017 - 8:36pm

    It’s easy enough to get rid of fall’s usual leftovers — the Halloween candy and the turkey dinner — but there’s one leftover that will be hanging around in Wilmington — all those leaves that got raked up but not picked up.
    The City Council suspended the fall leaf vacuum program at the end of the summer. It was a matter of economics. Over the past eight years, Ken Ewenson, the superintendent of public works, says his department spent $15,000 on maintenance and repairs to the machine, on top of weeks worth of salaries for two workers needed to operate it.

River dam ‘uninsurable’: City liability coverage for drownings slashed

Published by admin on Tue, 11/28/2017 - 6:41pm

    The city of Wilmington’s liability insurance coverage against river dam related incidents has been slashed so far that one lawsuit could mean financial ruin for the municipality.
    The city participates in, and was a founding member of the Illinois Municipal Insurance Cooperative (IMIC), an exclusive insurance program offered by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. The city’s coverage year runs from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, and the City Council reviewed the 2018 renewal proposal last week.

Teen artists shine light on local history

Published by admin on Tue, 11/28/2017 - 6:27pm

    The city’s history is coming alive on the walls of the Wilmington House Restaurant through the volunteer efforts of the community’s young artists.
    Warren Miller is the art instructor at Wilmington High School. He is also the yearbook sponsor and last year, formed a student art club. Since then, the students and club members have completed several community art projects, including painting murals on the Wilmington Township road district’s snow plow blades, painting chairs for a Catbackers’ fundraiser auction, and creating scenery for the school’s spring musical.

City will accept infrastructure in good shape

Published by admin on Tue, 11/28/2017 - 6:24pm

    Before the city takes responsibility for the infrastructure at Water’s Edge Estates, city officials want to know it’s in good shape, and want to require the developer, homeowners association and residents to bring the rest up to standard before it becomes the city’s.
    Roy Surdej began the subdivision project in the late 1990s. By the time residents started moving in in 2002, Paul Dresden had taken over, and subsequently started the Prairie Farms Subdivision to the east of Water’s Edge. Dresden went belly up before completing either project.